Falcons Exercise Fifth-Year Option on Julio Jones

Jay Glazer of FOX Sports tweeted this afternoon that the Atlanta Falcons were electing to exercise the fifth-year option on Julio Jones’ contract. As such, Jones’ 2015 base salary will become the average of the top 10 wide receivers in the league, projected at $10.176 million.

The fifth-year option was instituted in the NFL’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement enacted in 2011, where first-round picks could be kept for a fifth season rather than the standard four. Teams would have until the end of the players third season and May 3 before his fourth season to exercise the option. Thusly, the fifth-year salary would be guaranteed for injury only. If Jones is on the Falcons’ roster on opening day of 2015, however, his salary will be fully guaranteed for skill, cap and injury. Terms of the option are non-negotiable and automatically included in the contracts of all players selected in the first round.

The Falcons traded up 21 spots in 2011 to draft Jones. He is coming off a year where he only appeared in first five games due to a foot injury. But at the time of his injury, he was leading the NFL with 41 receptions. He was also second in the league at that time with 580 receiving yards, and also had a pair of touchdown catches. For his career, Jones has played in 34 games with 33 starts and caught 174 passes for 2,737 yards (15.7 avg) and 20 touchdowns. He earned a spot in the Pro Bowl in 2012.

Under the terms of his original contract signed in 2011, Jones is set to count roughly $5.15 million against the Falcons’ salary cap this season. His salary is fully guaranteed.